Folding chair fob pews



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

M. S. BEACH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FOLDING CHAIR FOR PEWS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 18,377, dated October 13, 1857.

To a-ZZ whom t may'concern:

Be it known that I, MosEs S. BEACH, of

' the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Folding Chair for Pews; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description of the construction and Inode of operating the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this speciication, in which my improved chair is represented as attached to the end of an ordinary church pew.

Figure 1 is a front view of the pew, with the chair attached to it and open for use. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front view of the pew, with the chair closed and dropped down out of the way.

The red lines show the position of the chair when raised, preparatory to being opened and adjusted for use.

In each of the three figures, A is the pewseat; B, the end piece of the pew; C, the seat of the movable chair; D, the chair back; E, the chair legs; F, the back and leg brace, fastened to the chair back; G, a hanging staypiece, fastened to the end piece of the pew and serving as legs to the chair when open and a support to it when closed. The chair back D, is fastened to the upper side of the chair seat C, by means of butts or hinges, which are so arranged as to allow the back to fold down upon the seat. The chair-legs E are fastened to the under side of the chair seat C by means of butts or hinges so arranged as to permit their being folded up under the seat. The chair seat C is fastened to the hanging stay-piece G, by butts or hinges, so arranged as to allow the seat C (when the back has been folded down and the legs folded up,) to drop down from a horizontal position to a vertical one.

The mode of operating this chair is as follows: The several parts having been constructed and fastened together as described they are. raised to the position shown by red lines in Fig. 3. The chair legs E are then allowed to drop down to a vertical position and rest upon the floor, and the chair back D is raised and so turned as to slope backward for use. By this last movement, the back and leg brace F is brought unde'r the seat in the position shown in Fig. 1, and

by the dotted line in Fig. 2; and the legs E are thus prevented from being accidentally jostled or crowded inward, out of place, (the butts or hinges preventing them from outward movement,) while the brace also assists, by its pressure upon the under part of the seat, to support the back D.

To close and drop down the chair, the back D is first folded down upon the seat; after which the legs E are folded up, and the whole falls into the position shown in Fig. 3. Vhile in this position, the brace F, by coming into contact with the end piece of the pew, B, prevents the back D from swinging open laterally. The brace F thus obviates the necessity of latches or spring catches to keep the chair closed.

To give the chair seat C the requisite height from the floor, in such a position as the aisle of a church, where it is desirable to have the chair as narrow as possible, it is necessary to make mortises in the hanging stay-piece G, to receive the ends of the chairlegs E, as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3.

By adding another pair of legs, hinged to the seat, in place of the hanging stay-piece, a complete chair independent of other support will be formed-a modification which, when applied to long chairs or settees which it is desirable at times to pack away in a small space, will prove a valuable convenience. In constructing these, or the chair described, any of the materials ordinarily used for such purposes may be employed.

I do not claim, broadly, to be the first inventor of folding-chairs, the backs and legs of which are hinged; for they are well known; but

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

The employment of the brace F, when arranged as described, so as to serve the treble purpose of a brace or stop for the back D, and the leg E, and also as a stop to prevent the back D from opening laterally when the chair is folded against the pew.

M. S. BEACH. lVitnesses O. J. HALLENSTEN, JAMES G. COOPER. 

